Reading Revelation Responsibly: Uncivil Worship and Witness: Following the Lamb into the New Creation

by Michael J. Gorman

I recalled the Hal Lindsey era of my own 1970s youth. As a teen with a recently invigorated Christian faith, I too was briefly captivated by the hopes—and fears—outlined in The Late Great Planet Earth and similar books, the predecessors to the “Left Behind” phenomenon. Fortunately, our youth group was blessed with one leader who offered a different way of reading Revelation. My fears alleviated, I was able to put Revelation on the back burner through most of college, despite having a resident assistant who regularly camped out in the college woods to hone his survivalist skills before the Great Tribulation. (His preoccupation did, however, cause me considerable distress for a short period of time.) My interest in Revelation resurfaced at Princeton Seminary, where I took a course on the book with the late, great professor Bruce Metzger, whose lectures became the basis for a popular book called Breaking the Code. Later, as a Ph.D. student, I helped him teach the same course. Thanks to Dr. Metzger, I developed a strong interest, not only in the book of Revelation itself, but also in the many ways it has been interpreted. When I in turn became a New Testament professor, I began regularly teaching a course called “The Book of Revelation and its Interpreters.” I also started giving talks on Revelation to church groups, college and seminary students, and others. And I began leading study tours called “The Cities of Paul and John” that include most of the seven cities—all located ...